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FORMATION NOTES: Michigan spent virtually the whole game in a 3-3-5, aside from some goal line plays. Army started off in a traditional flexbone, so this was the most common setup for the first quarter and change:

Michigan barely varied from this presnap. Army started poking at the general lightness of this formation and spent most of the back half of the game in a relatively jumbo setup:

The two tight-end-type substances to the bottom are actually OL. You can see that Michigan has responded by shifting Uche to the line of scrimmage bringing their safety level closer to the LOS. Army did some work in this formation but Michigan had their plan and did not deviate from it, and it all worked out.

SUBSTITION NOTES: Almost no rotation. On the DL it was Paye/Kemp/Hutchinson almost the whole way, with Danna getting about a dozen snaps and cameos from Mason and Jeter.

Glasgow, Hudson, and Uche got every snap. Ross probably would have as well but a stinger forced him out at halftime; Anthony took over. This was not much of a glimpse at Anthony since it seemed like Michigan's scheme with the MLB was to get him annihilated on every snap.

Gray spotted Thomas and Hill for just under half the game. Aside from that and a couple J'Marick Woods snaps the secondary was Thomas/Hill/Metellus/Hawkins the whole way.

[After THE JUMP: I hope you like fullbacks!]

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Ace trips tight	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	QB off tackle	Hutchinson	0
End around fake; QB pulls back and lets the FB lead out off tackle. Uche creeps down as bonus DL and gets cut, Ross(+1) is free to attack and shoots up the middle. Hutchinson(+2) rips down the RT and pops up in the running lane; QB cuts back, Ross is able to make the ankle tackle at the LOS with Hutchinson aiding, preventing YAC.
O25	2	10	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Triple option	Glasgow	2
LT passes up Hutchinson; pull as he dives on the FB. Glasgow(+1) is playside LB and is sealed for a second but fights the block off and flows down the line to force a pitch. Thomas(+0.5) is taking on a block and should be force but with Hudson(+0.5) flying up on the interior RB tries the corner, getting a couple.
O27	3	8	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Triple option	Hudson	4
Dangerous. Ross(-1) goes over and a cut block and is eliminated from the play. Uche shoots upfield of a tackle and it’s an easy pitch decision for QB; now Metellus(+1) and Hudson(+2) are on the edge in a lot of space and there are blockers for both. Metellus hammers the lead back, putting him on the ground. I think this might be an open edge since Hill(-1) does not get off his man at all here; Metellus convinces the back to go inside. Hudson oles the OL in space and gets to the back; they tackle with help from Hutchinson(+0.5). RPS –1; asking a lot of the safety level.
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 13 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O40	1	10	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Dive	Paye	4
Kemp(-1) blown back by a single block. Paye(+1) able to skip a cut block and get to the dive back a yard downfield; pile lurches. Kemp ends up bowled over.
O44	2	6	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	4
Tape missing.
O48	3	2	Flexbone	3-3-5	5-1 split	Press three high	Run	N/A	Dive	Kemp	1
M brings ends in and puts the OLBs on the LOS. Kemp(+1) dodges the C and flings himself at FB’s feet at the LOS. Ross(+1) dodges the same guy and is able to get to the POA to stall out YAC.
O49	4	1	Flexbone	3-3-5	5-1 split	Press three high	Run	N/A	Dive	Hutchinson	2
Kemp(+1) again chucks the C by him and gets in a tackle attempt; Hutchinson(-1) gets a Bush push double and gets tossed back so there’s no pay off from Kemp’s play. RPS -1; I know you don’t want to give up big plays but this is 4th and one, I think you have to dial up a D that prevents doubling on the LOS.
M49	1	10	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Triple option	Hudson	31
Dangerous, and this time M can’t bail it out. Ross(-1) cut and gone out of the play. Hudson(-2) tries the same trick he did on the last pitch and this time he gets blocked by the OL. Giant gap between him and Metellus, who’s holding the edge just inside the numbers. If this is the approach they want I guess I shouldn’t minus Uche but he again pops up on the QB and spends himself on an easy pitch decision. RPS –1.
M18	1	10	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Dive	Uche	5
Hutchinson(+0.5) able to stand up his guy and stall him at the LOS. FB has to make a decision and pops outside; Uche(-1) unable to slow him down after taking on a flex back. Mason(-1) gives ground and goes to the ground at NT, so this was going to be decent if it went inside. Ross(-1) ate a OL block and was never getting anywhere.
M13	2	5	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Dive	Mason	3
Mason(+1) able to swim past the NT and get to the dive back but has no support as Ross(-1) again eats a block; Hutchinson(+1) also collapses down and makes contact but structure of D makes it hard to not give up YAC.
M10	3	2	Flexbone tight	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Power option	Hill	8
Hill(-2) gets blocked into the endzone by the Army WR tight to the field side. Uche leaps a block and makes the QB bend a bit; Hutchinson(+0.5) sheds and might be able to get there but OL grabs him and should get called for a hold(refs -2) and Hutch is delayed enough for the QB to dart by. Glasgow(+0.5) comes from the backside to grab the QB and prevent the TD; Hudson helps finish. Hudson had no shot at cutting this off sooner because Hill’s going backwards so fast.
M2	1	G	Flexbone twin TE	Goal line	Goal line	Press two high	Run	N/A	Dive	Ross	1
Danna(-1) gets put in the endzone by a double; Ross(+1) is able to come up for a stick at the LOS to prevent the TD.
M1	2	G	Flexbone trip TE	Goal line	Goal line	Press two high	Run	N/A	Dive	N/A	1
M has a bubble between Hinton and Paye and Army goes right at it. Pining for Mason short yardage. I usually don’t minus one yard dives; RPS -1 here as this was easy as Army’s formation stretched M’s line into an untenable spot.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 0-7, 5 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Triple option	Metellus
Outside safeties are creeping down presnap; they get triple option. Uche(+0.5) does a better job to flash and disrupt the QB and force the pitch. Metellus(+0.5) is in the lead back’s face and is either going to shed and TFL or force it back to Hutchinson(+0.5), flowing out hard. Awkward pitch is not fielded. Metellus(+1) gathers it and scores; ref(-4) calls it back incorrectly and unreviewably. Let it go! You can fix it later.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 7-7, EO1Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O28	1	10	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Run	N/A	Down G	Ross	6
Bad news for M as Army switches it up, pulling playside G. Uche(-1) is shot inside as he defends the dive. Ross(+0.5) runs up to hammer a lead blocker; forcing it back. Doesn’t get off a block but useful. Hawkins(+1) is able to come from all the way outside to get in an ankle tackle(+1); important as Glasgow(-1) gets cut and this is close to a first down without Hawkins intervening.
O34	2	4	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Run	N/A	Trap	Paye	3
Hutchinson chop blocked, no call(refs -3). Kemp gets some penetration but is too deep and can’t do anything about the quick hitter. Paye(+0.5) slides over and takes a trap block from a G, not much he can do. He does enough to get the FB to trip over his blocker, I think? Ross(+0.5) is able to climb over the Hutchinson mess and help stop this short of the sticks, for what good it does.
O37	3	1	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press two high	Run	N/A	Dive	Uche	1
Uche(+1) slants inside and puts a TE a yard in the backfield. FB trips over this mess and is able to barely get the first down.
O38	1	10	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Dive	Glasgow	2 -15 Pen
Borderline chop on Kemp(+0.5); Kemp is still able to get through this and push the dive wide a bit. Glasgow(+1) runs up and slams a flexback; he’s able to stall the FB’s momentum as Hawkins(+0.5) and Ross(+0.5) arrive to finish the play. FB takes a drive-killing PF by shoving Hawkins after.
O25	2	23	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Run	N/A	Trap	Ross	5
M has a bubble again, which gives Army the ability to chip Hutchinson a little and then trap block him for a gap up the middle. In this down and distance, ok. Ross(+1) beats a block and Hudson(+0.5) doesn’t buy frippery so they converge on the second level.
O30	3	18	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Run	N/A	Power option	Uche	0
Uche(+2) stacks and sheds the LT, forcing the QB back. He tackles by himself. Hutchinson(+0.5) got a little drive that knocked the OL headed Ross(+0.5) off track and allowed Ross to get to the QB to limit YAC. Metellus(+1) dodged a cut and was in position to limit or even TFL the pitch.
Drive Notes: Punt, 7-7, 12 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M40	1	10	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Run	N/A	Dive	Hutchinson	4
Hutchinson(-0.5) doubled and turned in, playlong double, tough; Uche(+0.5) able to get off a block and get to the FB but from the side; Ross(-0.5) ends up running to hit a wingback instead of firing at the FB; he makes the tackle but he’s leaked a couple yards.
M36	2	6	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press two high	Run	N/A	Dive	Uche	2
Hutchinson slants away sort of oddly; gets two blockers, is out of the dive lane. Kemp(+0.5) is able to shove the C over and help close the gap with Uche(+0.5) firing hard on the snap and jamming the rest up.
M34	3	4	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Triple option	Uche	-1
Hutchinson left this time and dives on the back; Uche again pops out to contain the QB. QB stumbles as RG trips him up; Uche(+0.5) thwacks him hard. Ball is out before the hit but the rushed pitch is off and fumbled. M cannot recover. Wanted the pitch here and almost certainly had it as Gray(-1) loses outside leverage and probably is beat to corner.
M35	4	5	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Pass	4	Seam	Hudson	Inc (Pen +10)
Uche(+1, pressure +2) wins around the wingback coming to him in a flash; Ross(+0.5) gets a free run up the middle, so doom is closing in. Hudson(-1, cover -1) gets beat over the top and has to hold, refs(+2) ignore that. Hill(-1, cover -1) is also grabbing and yanking this guy in press coverage and… I mean, it’s Army. You don’t need to do this. If this dude completes a fade over you I will eat a lemon.
M25	1	10	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press two high	Run	N/A	Dive	Kemp	4
Uche(+0.5) and Hutchison(+0.5) both get single blocks and stick at the LOS; Kemp(-1) gets the C and then gets hit by a G, knocking him back. That’s enough for four yards.
M21	2	6	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Run	N/A	Down G	Kemp	2
Kemp(+1) swims behind the center block and extends to hit the FB at the LOS. Uche(+0.5) gets the pulling G and stands him p to force the play to Kemp.
M19	3	4	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	QB off tackle	Metellus	2
Wingback motion; Metellus is in overhang and passes the wingback off to Hill, nominally in S position. Metellus(+1) blitzes off the corner on what looks like an auto check. Straight up QB run; Metellus is in quick enough that he forces a cutback to the far backside of the play. QB has to leave his feet to jump over a fallen OL. Paye(+0.5) leaps over a cut and Ross(+0.5) redirects to tackle, with Hawkins arriving late to stall the last momentum. Amazing how every YAC is giant in this game. RPS +1.
M17	4	2	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	4-3 over	Press one high	Run	N/A	Dive	Kemp	3
Uche moves in as a standup DT; really wanted M to get more aggressive with the LB level here, it’s at the 17 yard line, if they score on this play it’s OK and you have a real shot at kicking them off the field. Uche does a decent job holding up to a momentary double but push; Ross beats the C’s cut block but essentially gets ankle tackled, refs -1, and is off balance when the guy coming off Uche hits him. Kemp(-0.5) cut by RG, not much he could do but he’s swum over the C more quickly before. No one else can get there in time. RPS -1; I don’t mind M’s approach for this game but gotta have some kind of blitz on here to get your LBs to the POA.
M14	1	10	Flexbone trip TE	4-2-5	4-3 even	Off three high	Run	N/A	Power option	Hudson	4
M looks misaligned, with the LB level slid away from the strength of the formation. Army runs away from that slide and gets a crease. Hudson(+1) is able to climb over a free releasing LT and get to the POA; Metellus(+0.5) had no choice but to respect the pitch and gets kicked for a second but is able to come off it and help tackle; Hutchinson(+0.5) does similarly. RPS -1. I expected a playside slant at least.
M10	2	6	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off one high	Run	N/A	Power option	Uche	5
Uche(-1) tries to fire upfield of his guy after getting sealed inside instead of shedding to the interior and doesn’t get it; he’s gone. Metellus is force and can’t affect the play since Uche’s not stringing it out. Having a hard time grading the LB level here as QB just slips through a series of tackles by a micron as they deal with a ton of blocks. Ross climbs over an OL releasing to him but gets shoved; wingback then grabs his arm and gets him off balance; he’s able to get to the QB but is falling and only able to grab ankles. Push? I guess -1 is ok for a five yard run.
M5	3	1	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press zero	Run	N/A	Dive	N/A	4
I mean… make them pitch. This is the five yard line. You’re just handing this to them. RPS -2.
M1	1	G	Flexbone trip TE	Goal line	Goal line	Press zero	Run	N/A	QB sneak	N/A	1
They get it.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-14, 3 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O37	2	8	Flexbone tight	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Off three high	Pass	4	Wheel	Hudson	33
Hudson(-3, cover -3) passes off the wingback to nobody; Hill has a guy on a post and there’s no way the wing back is anyone else’s. Dude is wide open; throw holds him up enough for Metellus(+1) to recover despite crossing the LOS.
M29	1	10	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off two high	Run	N/A	Down G	Uche	8
M again slid to the weakside, don’t get it. Anthony, who gets the second half at MLB, has basically no shot to get to this with a TE with all the angle gtting to him. Uche(-1) 100% focused on the dive and gets locked in; no delay; FB gets outside of him to the intended gap. Hudson’s way off the LOS and gets a blocker; that doesn’t go well but it’s never going to. RPS -2.
M21	2	2	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off two high	Run	N/A	Power option	Anthony	7
Same alignment, tough. Uche gives ground but does get around to force it back at the other hash, push. Anthony(-0.5) and Hutchinson(-0.5) both get cut a bit and flow out by not fast enough to make the Uche play meaningful. RPS -1, this is untenable.
M14	1	10	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off three high	Run	N/A	Down G	Hutchinson	5
I mean, this is a chop block on Hutchison at the point of attack. Refs -3. He’s engaged and takes a low hit from a second guy. Hutch has zero chance of getting off this block and getting over the guy trying to take his knees out. Uche(+0.5) does a good job to force it back inside quickly; Anthony(-1) gets hammered trying to get to the edge and has no impact on the play. Kemp(-0.5) lets the C through immediately to Glasgow, who’s in tough after that.
M9	2	5	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off three high	Run	N/A	Dive	Uche	1
Uche(+1) swims through the tackle and gets inside the wingback to make backfield contact. Danna(+0.5) holds up okay. Anthony(+0.5) gets there quickly to help prevent YAC.
M8	3	4	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off two high	Run	N/A	Down G	Uche	4
M again with no answer when Uche(-1) gets sealed inside thinking dive; Anthony(+0.5) and Hawkins(+0.5) both converge well to cut this down, with Anthony getting a little lucky as an OL passes him up; still a first down. RPS -1. No halftime adjustment to this trip TE stuff.
M4	1	G	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off zero high	Run	N/A	Power option	Danna	3
Uche(+1) stacks and sheds his guy; he pops out on a blocker and forces it back. Lane as Danna(-1) gets thunked by one guy. Glasgow(+0.5) and Anthony(+0.5) are able to get there and barely prevent the QB from getting in.
M1	2	G	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off zero high	Penalty	N/A	False start	N/A	-5
You can literally hear the MOVE Brown talked about in his presser on the tape. RPS +1.
M6	2	G	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off zero high	Run	N/A	QB off tackle	Metellus	1
Dunno why they’d come back to this when the last time M had a response to it. Wingback motions to WR spot, M flips Hill out to him and Metellus(+1) fires off the edge to force this back away from the POA. Metellus chases QB direct to Paye(+0.5), who stalls out YAC. RPS +1.
M5	3	G	Ace 3TE tight	3-3-5	4-3 under	Off zero high	Pass	5	TE cross	Hudson	INT
Hudson(+3, pressure +3) sent off the edge; he gets a blocker and rips through him, then accelerates to the QB despite that guy yanking his jersey. Dude flips around with Hudson in his grill and tosses a back foot throw directly to Hill(+1), who catches it. Metellus(+0.5) dropping into the intended route and likely to have a play on a well thrown ball. RPS +2, Hudson got a blocker but M was anticipating pass here, coverage(+2) good.
Drive Notes: Interception, 7-14, 7 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off two high	Run	N/A	Power option	Uche	1 (Pen -10)
Uche’s(+2) holding the edge here and trying to get to the outside; suddenly he sheds the RT and explodes upfield into the QB for a stick. Anthony(+0.5) helped facilitate this by running to the play and hitting the RT. Metellus(+0.5) read the keep and was going to crash down and tackle this but not for a yard. C tackled Kemp unnecessarily, so this gets worse.
O15	1	20	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Triple option	Gray	8
Gray(-2) moves inside on the snap, gets past the initial WR block, and then goes upfield of the wingback, no edge. Metellus(+0.5) and Hudson(+0.5) both have blockers but are able to get past them and shut it down; Hudson did better avoiding his guy but missed the tackle; he did force it to Metellus.
O23	2	12	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Pass	5	Flare	Hudson	9
PA; nobody goes with the RB. Hudson(-1, cover -1) is very deep and seems to be the guy; he’ll still have a lot to do if he’s closer but he’s got no chance to shut this down. Also possible that Uche or Anthony was supposed to move out on the back; both of them are running at the QB unblocked. Uche(-1, cover -1) is closest.
O32	3	3	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	4-3 under	Press one high	Run	N/A	Power option	Hudson	0
Hudson(+1) on the QB; he doesn’t just spend himself after getting up in the QB’s grill quickly; he also bashes the lead blocker. That guy can't get to Metellus(+1, tackling +1), who flows hard and plays this space tackle as well as you can; Hudson helps finish.
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-14, EO3Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O28	2	5	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Run	N/A	Down G	Hutchinson	6
M pulls Uche off the LOS and blitzes to the weak side. Hutchinson(-1) is about alone to the strong side and gets sealed inside by a single block. He gets off it to tackle downfield, some damage already done. Uche comes up to force it back relatively quickly and Hudson(+0.5) is able to redirect from outside duties to help force it back to Hutchinson. RPS -1, not enough dudes.
O34	1	10	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press one high	Run	N/A	Dive	Kemp	1
No double here from Army so Uche(+0.5) and Hutchinson(+0.5) hold up at LOS; Kemp swims past the C and gets to the FB for a thump.
O35	2	9	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press two high	Run	N/A	Power option	Glasgow	3
M has made a little adjustment here; Hudson again pops up as the QB contain guy and cuts off the lead blocker. QB cuts up. Line slanted away; little gap between Uche and Hutchinson. Glasgow(+1) is able to slalom through diving blockers to get to the POA and hit; Uche(+0.5) and Hutch(+0.5) both converge as well.
O38	3	6	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Dive	Kemp	4
Wires crossed for M somewhere. Uche pops for QB after shooting upfield inside of Hutch; Hutch also pops upfield. One of those has to be wrong. Two guys fly out at Anthony, who’s able to shed after getting knocked back; Kemp(+2) saves M’s bacon here by getting around the C, dodging a cut, and hitting the FB at the LOS. He slows and Michigan can rally. Uche did force this guy to Kemp, FWIW.
Drive Notes: Punt, 14-14, 6 min 4th Q. 2:32 for Army to start next drive.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O42	1	10	Flexbone tight	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Off three high	Pass	4	Wheel	Metellus	Inc
M covers(+3) every WR and Hopkins probably just throws it away. Kemp(+2, pressure +2) about knocked the C over and surges upfield to hit the QB.
O42	2	10	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Triple option	Thomas	8
Army leaves Hutch and Uche alone, both guys pop on the QB. Hutch is checking dive first. Quick pitch, Uche can’t quite get an ankle tackle in. Thomas(-1) takes one block, sheds it, gets a second. He gives ground anticipating a cut and doesn’t get the cut; he gets shoved back. Hawkins(+1) is able to dodge his blocker and push the play to the sideline. I think Uche is fine given the way M has played this and Hutch popping up is a weird army adjust that worked, RPS -1.
50	3	2	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press one high	Run	N/A	Dive	Glasgow	1
Glasgow(+1) appears to be the first among equals in a wall of meat with Danna(+0.5) and Kemp(+0.5); Glasgow runs up and it’s a shock that the pile just stops.
M49	4	1	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Pitch sweep	Hawkins	3
Oh man. Hawkins makes the tackle here, ripping past a WR crack block and grabbing the RB just beyond the sticks… and he took a false step towards the dive to start the play. Which he’s not getting before the sticks on any planet. I mean, this is a really good play as soon as Hawkins recovers from the false step, and yet. Glasgow is on the edge here and plays this irresponsibly, shooting the gap between two blockers on the inside and going for a heroball TFL, which I don’t mind because it’s fourth and one, it’s a heroball down on D. Thomas(-1) again eats a block instead of attacking it. RPS +1.
M46	1	10	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Press two high	Run	N/A	Down G	Hutchinson	6
M anticipating option; Hutch(-1) dives on dive and Uche(-1) pops on QB; big lane. Anthony(+0.5) able to redirect, take on a block, and get in an okay tackle that bleeds some YAC.
M40	2	4	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Power option	Danna	5
This is their TE set but they have a WR tucked in instead of their bonus OL, which causes M to play this like it’s not their TE set with Uche off the line. Danna(-1) gets turned inside and is gone and that’s the lane with no other LOS resistance. RPS -1.
M35	1	10	Flexbone	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press two high	Run	N/A	Dive	Kemp	0
M moves Hudson to the LOS, which they have not done all game. Kemp(+1) again dodges C and gets under G and gets there to stuff the dive along with Paye(+0.5), who Army did not block. If this is a read maybe it missed? RPS +1.
M35	2	10	Flexbone TE	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Press three high	Run	N/A	Down G	Hudson	2
M shows no edge on this so the lead guy just runs; Hudson(+1) comes down hard, running by OL, and comes down to crunch FB with Hutch(+0.5) and Glasgow(+0.5).
Drive Notes: Missed FG(50), EOregulation.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Flexbone TE tight	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off three high	Run	N/A	Dive	Danna	2
Kemp(-0.5) hammered by a double this time; Hutchinson(+0.5) able to stand his ground a bit; Danna(+1) dodges a cut and is able to stand up the FB with help from Glasgow(+0.5)
M23	2	8	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off three high	Run	N/A	Down G	Anthony	4
Uche(-2) turned and pancaked, rough. Hawkins force, gap hard to shut down. Anthony(+1) got on his horse presnap and dodged a blocker to get to the spot and mitigate the damage with a filling Hudson.
M19	3	4	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off two high	Run	N/A	Down G	Hudson	2 (Pen +5)
Hudson(-1) jumps offsides. Woof. Uche(+2) redeems his previous play, stacking and shedding the RT to force this away from the intended gap and into a pile of dudes. About to be fourth and two.
M14	1	10	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off three high	Run	N/A	Power option	Hudson	8
Hudson moves down presnap, which is probably an RPS plus but then he blows it. Probably. Uche gets a play-long double from two OL who are flanked outside of him and gets blasted back. Always going to happen. Okay, but Hudson(-2) goes up and HITS one of these guys instead of scraping over the top of this mess, which he’s in perfect position to do. Hawkins(+0.5) forces it back quickly and gets an ankle tackle attempt in. Glasgow(+1, tackling +1) saves five yards and maybe a TD with a diving tackle attempt. If Hudson just scrapes over here he can hit the QB in the hole. Uche(-1) went far fast, which was inevitable but he is light and that is a disadvantage.
M6	2	2	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off two high	Run	N/A	Dive	Uche	0
Uche(+2) flings a downblocker past him and sticks the dive back in the nose.
M6	3	2	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	Goal line	Off two high	Run	N/A	Power option	Hudson	6
M puts Uche and Hudson on the LOS; both guys get clocked. Uche’s able to get off it and start flowing, at which point he runs into Hudson and goes down. Hudson(-2). Uche -1. That’s all she wrote. Hutchinson(+1) did get great push here to force a bend but that can’t rescue it.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-21, EO1OT
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Pack	Front	Cover look	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M25	1	10	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off two high	Run	N/A	Power option	Uche	2
Hutchinson(-1) turned in and eliminated, so this feels like trouble; Uche(+2) rescues it with a stack and shed where he rips past an OT so quickly and lunges a the QB that he almost brings him down at the LOS. Hudson(+1) got doubled and is able to come underneath both of these to finish it with Uche.
M23	2	8	Flexbone trip TE	3-3-5	30 nickel slide	Off two high	Run	N/A	Power option	Hutchinson	-3
G over Hutchinson(+3) pulls. Hutchinson steps inside; OL maybe blocking down on him passes him up; and then Hutchinson explodes upfield to tackle the QB on an option play as more or less a DE. At the end of this game ghost versions of Ryan Glasgow and Mike Martin wave at Hutchinson for this.
M26	3	11	Flexbone tight	3-3-5	3-3 stack	Off three high	Pass	5	Sack	Paye	-9
Paye(+2, pressure +3) wins around the outside at 8 and forces the QB up in the pocket. Mostly sacks him. Falls off, but by that point Kemp(+1)and Hutchinson(+1) have gotten off blocks and force the fumble that Paye(+1) falls on.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 24-21, EOG.

*shruggie*

Yeah, pretty much.

Did I hate the approach? I have no idea.

I'm not sure Michigan had alternatives given the DT situation. But also this is what they prepared to do. Tactically this was close to identical to the Air Force game from a couple years back; both Air Force and Army responded to Michigan's stubborn insistence on running a 3-3-5 with three deep safeties by loading up one side of the line of scrimmage with TE/bonus OL and asking Michigan to cope. Air Force seemed to abandon that strategy despite Michigan's failure to deal with it; this time around Michigan slid their SAM down to the line of scrimmage and asked a lot of him.

It mostly worked I guess? Drives:

• 2 three and outs, 1 first-down-and-out
• 1 immediate pitch fumble for defensive TD (almost)
• 1 three-and-out ending in OT fumble.
• 1 drive self-sabotaged by PF
• 10-play, 25-yard "two minute drill" ending in 50 yard FGA
• 5 play, 25-yard TD drive
• 10-play, 60-yard drive ending in INT
• 10-play, 60-yard TD drive
• 11-play, 40-yard TD drive

Five of those are successful. None of Army's long drives were very long. Two of those (the PF freebie and the mutually agreed long FGA) are N/A. Three are unsuccessful and the INT was one bit of Don Brown gamesmanship away from the game-losing points.

The MOVE thing was real?

Real and literally audible. If you need context, Brown's animated press conference after the game had a section in which he described the gambit that won them five game-changing yards on second and goal from the one. Brown:

Don Brown being......Don Brown pic.twitter.com/E6vLbtT5r2

— angelique (@chengelis) September 9, 2019

In no way was this an exaggeration. The giant loud MOVE is audible on the game tape, and it clearly causes the false start. Here's the only false start to get clipped in the history of UFR:

Rarely does the gamesmanship pay off that handsomely; Brown is entitled to bask in the aftermath of it. Game-saving? Probably.

Okay that's cool but I still have no idea how to feel?

Uh, same.

I have to confess that while this approach was generally fine Army short yardage plays rankled. Michigan had a few different opportunities to punch Army off the field on fourth down and never did. It's hard to see how they could given their pre-snap alignments:

That's fourth and two from the 17 yard line so selling out has relatively low downside and a solid shot at a turnover on downs. It's not that Army got it—they always get it—but Michigan didn't have anything in the toolbox to give them a shot.

This from the five yard line was probably the worst:

Michigan shades away from the strength of the formation and then asks Hutchinson to slant; he gets doubled and nobody from the LB level is blitzing to replace that. Impossible to see that going well.

Michigan did adapt here with a far more aggressive look on a second-half fourth and one. They got a pitch sweep, which I feel much better about in general. If Brad Hawkins hadn't taken a false step he probably nails this:

S #20 to top

I'm fine with allowing that conversion. The dives were too easy even if the 3-3-5 was the only alternative.

Anything we can take out of this on a player level?

A few things. Chart:

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Paye	6		6	Ran away from, massive play on final snap.
Dwumfour				DNP
Kemp	10.5	3.5	7	Swim swim swim.
Hutchinson	13.5	5	8.5	Massive second OT.
Danna	2	3	-1	In about a dozen snaps.
Uche	18	11	7	Went to war and came out bloodied but unbowed.
Jeter				DNP
Mason	1	1	0
Hinton				DNC
Vilain				DNP
TOTAL	51	23.5	+27.5	Did what they could.
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Hudson	11	12	-1	A bonafide Jonas Mouton game
Ross	6	4.5	1.5	Reasonably useful in a half.
Glasgow	7	1	6	Got to a lot of stuff, with power.
Gil				DNP
Anthony	3.5	1.5	2	Decent in first extended PT.
McGrone				DNP
Barrett				DNP
TOTAL	27.5	19	+8.5	I dunno.
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Metellus	9.5		9.5	No mistakes.
Hawkins	3.5		3.5	Almost had the fourth down.
Hill	1	3	-2	Caught the free INT this time.
Thomas	0.5	2	-1.5	Blown back a couple times.
Gray		3	-3	Stuck guys when unblocked; got really really blocked.
Woods				DNC
Kelly-Powell				DNP
TOTAL	14.5	8	+6.5	Metellus a dude.
Metrics
Pressure	10		+10	Rescued M.
Coverage	5	7	-2	Big bust.
Tackling	3		+3	Not much open field.
RPS	8	15	-7	Triple option, you lose.

The RPS minus is whatever. When you go up against a triple option team you're going to lose in that metric because it accounts for little tricks that get the opponents chunks of yards but not the fact that you've entirely sacrificed a passing game for those tricks.

The individual numbers are probably a little optimistic because Army's system kind of breaks mine, which generally regards a four-yard run as a slightly positive event. I tried to dial it back given what Army was trying to do but there was a shower of +0.5s for stuff I usually give out +0.5s for—rallying to the ball to prevent YAC, that sort of thing.

But Michigan usually won the physical matchups. Usually. Two guys stand out as reasons for a lot of the things that happened, both good and bad.

I'm guessing Josh "Self-Reliance" Uche and his +18 –11 is one of them?

Yes. Uche came in for a ton of numbers in this game. A lot of them were bad. More of them were good, by a fairly solid margin. And since pass rush events in this game were extremely limited the baseline for decent moves back down to around zero—there are no pass rush failures that have their negative socialized.

So Uche staying on the field for the entirety of a game in which the opposition tried five passes, and coming out solidly positive after, is a development. And Uche earned those positives, usually by taking on an Army bonus OL who was nominally in to be a tight end that kicks his ass. Uche was able to stack and shed these guys. Sometimes he'd give some ground but his explosive rip move was able to make the yardage back up:

Standup DE #6 to bottom

This looks bad and then is suddenly good:

Standup DE #6 to top

I don't understand how that goes from Uche getting shoved two yards downfield to a hit-stick 0-YAC tackle.

Don't get me wrong: Uche had a number of poor moments as well. At least these were often confusion about what Army was doing. he got sealed inside a few times when Army ran off-tackle stuff that was not their option. They had a down G play that was tough for Michigan to defend; here Uche gets locked inside, probably because he's anticipating the dive:

Uche did get pancaked badly once but made up for it immediately with a +2 that got wiped out by the Hudson offsides. His game was all about whether he was able to get his hands on a guy and fling him past so he could use his explosion.

Standup DE #6 to bottom

Fling!

When he couldn't use his hands to do this he often got clocked. Context is important here. Army main set in the second half saw them add junior OL JB Hunter to the end of the line. Hunter is an Army OL so he's 265 pounds, not 320, but he's not a tight end. If Uche's slid to the weakside of the formation instead of the strongside, or he gets a modern tight end who's more of a THAT'S MY PURSE I DON'T KNOW YOU blocker I think it'll go well.

If you're skeptical, I get it. Uche's been sheltered for the duration of his career for a reason. This points him more towards every-down participation.

And the other…?

That would be +11 –12 Khaleke Hudson, who had an incredibly up-and-down game. Some of the up-and-down was, like Uche, understandable since Army was able to put Michigan in some bad spots.

 

The chunk run had its origin on Michigan's opening drive. Circumstances on the first Army triple option of the game weren't great:

Michigan's extra guy is Hawkins, who is completely out of the play

That's a quick pitch forced by Uche—I started minusing him for this but he did it every time so that was evidently the plan and I shifted them to RPS—and now everyone on the edge has a blocker. Metellus thunders up into the lead back for a pretty dodgy force job and Hudson is able to come underneath the OL leading out, so Michigan gets Army off the field:

This happened again, pretty much identically, on the chunk run. Hudson tried the same trick and the Army OL didn't fall for it:

Okay. I understand why that happened. I wish Hudson had given that OL a feint since trying the same thing was likely to fail, but I get it.

Unfortunately, Army's chunk pass wasn't a tricky play action thing that got Michigan biting; Hudson just busted the coverage by letting the wheel guy run by him. Hill's got to deal with a post and Hudson is clearly in pass coverage on second and eight:

Straight up coverage bust.

Meanwhile I was irritated about the fourth and five situation:

Hudson actually got away with a worse hold on this play than Hill, but I get why Hudson finds himself in a pickle. Why is Hill yanking an Army wide receiver? If this dude hits a fade on you so be it. Hudson didn't get flagged and his hold is a masterpiece in the rubbin's racing genre but it is fourth and five, a down on which you should be alert for Army play action; I dinged him too.

So Hudson gets a big thumbs down?

He did almost get back to even.

He made up for the coverage bust on the play of regulation, when Army went play action. This wasn't an Atari 2600 waggle where you're hoping the edge rusher has never seen football before. Army gave him a blocker and Hudson again demonstrated his standout skill:

LB #7 moving to top of formation

When Michigan swapped him onto the QB on option plays he performed well. Here he forces the pitch and also gets a little piece of the lead blocker.

Metellus gets a free run and makes no mistake.

On the other hand I think this is an adjustment Michigan makes to get him in position to scrape over the top of Uche's block and he just wastes himself going to hit a dude:

He's excellent in space but has never been good as a read and react linebacker.

He was put in a tough position on the option twice and got out of it even. His day was earthshakingly variable but for every play he ceded he made one. A solid thumbs in the middle. Except on the chunk pass, which was 1) very bad and 2) likely the difference between an Army TD, which they got, and a punt.

Any one else impress?

I'm going to glide past Metellus since anyone who's paying attention should be expecting Metellus to do this kind of stuff. Next up is Aidan Hutchinson, who continued to break out at DE. The penultimate play in overtime remains the biggest play of his day:

DE #97 to left

But in the aftermath of all that his ability to kick the game off with a zero-yard run was equally critical. Here he's again displaying that push-pull rip move that he flashed as a freshman and has refined in year two:

DE #97 to top

DEs were often optioned or just not relevant as Army continually attacked Uche and whoever else lined up to their heavy side; Hutchinson put in a shift.

If Michigan is thinking about plugging the DT gap by using Hutchinson as a three tech next to Uche—and they absolutely should be thinking about this—there is plenty of promise. There were occasional warning signs. Hutchinson gave some ground here and there, albeit in weird situations. Army went at him on fourth and one with a technique I can't recall seeing before where the guy "doubling" Hutchinson just pushes the ass of his teammate:

He's not going to be a fire-and-forget three tech, but Michigan will hope to make up for plays where he gets doubled by playing games. Until Dwumfour and Jeter get back or Hinton gets online they don't really have a choice.

Someone poke Paye with a stick maybe?

Paye was the weakside DE and therefore the least relevant defender on the field. He was the initial pressure on the final play:

Other than that he had a couple of plays on dives and such and otherwise watched Army run away from him the whole day.

And Kemp?

The play a couple of embeds above is also the best summary of Kemp's day.

NT #2

He lined head up on the center. The center would lunge out at him hoping to blast him and/or get a cut in. Kemp's job was to swim around the guy to the backside and get around him before the guard could do anything about it. On fourth and one he could be Ndamukong Suh and it wouldn't have gotten the guy down short of the sticks but he was frequently productive:

NT #2

He had a couple of critical pass rush events, too.

Relevance of that down the road?

Well… minimal. He's not going to see that again.

There's a big gap between your grading and PFFs at MLB.

Yeah, I probably could have been harsher on some cut blocks suffered. I dunno, man.

Michigan's linebacker level was in tough against a team running the triple option. It felt like the game plan was willing to sacrifice them if that allowed their DL to focus entirely on getting off (mostly) single blocks, as Kemp and Hutchinson do at various points above. If you get a dive or Army's quick hitting down G and you have to be cautious about pitches breaking outside and Michigan's three man line is set up such that guys are free releasing into your face on every down, you're gonna have a bad time.

This resulted in a hilariously bad grade for Josh Ross at PFF—37.0—that didn't really show up in my numbers. Ross got cut a lot, and when not getting cut he sat still and ate blocks:

MLB #12

It felt like he was so concerned about not doing anything wrong that he wasn't able to affect the play. He would have been more useful if he shot outside when Army showed option action instead of trying to be useful on the dive and flowing; the dive almost never needed—or got—his assistance.

On the other hand, I have a lot of sympathy for the situation he was put in. Here he successfully climbs over an OL block and then gets a wingback harassing him. He has to settle for a diving ankle tackle he misses:

I'm writing this one off.

Michigan yanked Ross for Jordan Anthony at halftime, citing a stinger. Anthony didn't fare a whole lot better but did turn in a couple nice plays. Here he's moving to the POA before the snap and gets there to help mitigate the damage on the one really bad Uche play:

Nothing blew up when he entered and he had a couple of moments. That's a positive.

In happier news, Jordan Glasgow flashed some of his doggedness and range:

LB #29 to bottom

In contrast to Michigan's MLBs he was able to decide and do stuff. Here he thumps a lead-out wingback and the fullback bangs into both of them, leading to a treasured two yard run:

Then Slomka commits a drive-killing PF. In general Glasgow brought more oomph than it felt he should. Here he seems to be the primary guy on a one yard dive that he helps stack up through a block:

LB #29 to top

I'm still waiting for him to take on a block from a beef machine OL, which is up next. So far so good. He looks fast, physical, and a major upgrade on Gil. I don't know if you can take him off the field even for a little rotation.

Any frustrations about, I mean, you know, obvious touchdowns called back?

Maybe one. This was only super painful because Michigan gave it back on the very next play but ye gods what an awful call on Metellus's called-back touchdown:

That's a disaster. Even if you think it's down let the play go and let review fix it, or call it back after the play completes.

The other thing that stood out as a potential issue were Army chop blocks. A couple of these were borderline. I honestly don't know what the rule says about situations like this:

#2 NT

Center contacts Kemp; Kemp tries to swim around it; he then gets cut. That's not a clear-cut chop block but yikes the contact at Kemp's knee there is alarming. A dollar says that's legal. It's asking for ligament damage.

On the other hand, this is 100% a chop block on Hutchinson:

DE #97 to top

Engaged, second guy dives at his legs. Michigan eventually got the INT on this drive but man, if Michigan's defensive front had a guy knocked out by Army's constant cut blocking that would have been a disaster for the season. Refs have to do a better job policing this stuff.

Heroes?

Glasgow, Metellus, and Hutchinson were very consistent with few drawbacks. Uche battle through a bunch to post a positive day.

Maybe not so heroic?

Hudson's multiple errors were the source of Army chunk plays. The CBs were not often tested but were all weak on the edge.

What does it mean for Wisconsin and beyond?

Not much. Stop doing this. Volunteering for triple option duty is dumb.

Uche every-down candidacy: extant. Michigan's best approach given the DT situation is almost certainly putting Uche up as a standup DT and living with what opponents try to do to Michigan's 280-pound DEs. He'll probably do a great job against TEs; the Army OL he was going up against is going to have 15 pounds on many of them and spent his entire career blocking.

Hutchinson coming. Burst and technique, headed towards ABT at some level.

Glasgow is pretty good. Draftable good? Maybe!